Issue 192 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone. I hope that you are doing well and having fun shooting. We are nearing the end of another year. The light is changing and I can’t wait for the Solstice and the return of longer daylight hours. Have you had a good look at your photos from 2023? I haven’t yet. But I will soon.
A very big thank you to everyone who has taken my tours and workshops. It is so wonderful to meet everyone. All of the photos in this issue are from a street photography workshop that I held in Hell’s Kitchen on the 26th of November. I hold private and group workshops all year round. Did I mention that I love what I do?
And thank you to all the subscribers free and paid. Your contributions are always welcome.
As always, Happy Shooting!
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
If you find this newsletter helpful, you can buy me a coffee or a book. Just click on the link Buy Me a Coffee page
I write this newsletter to share my thoughts & experiences on street photography. I hope that you find it of use in your journey. If you are able to, you can support me by buying me a coffee. No sweat if you’re unable to contribute. The newsletter is free for all. Thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee!!! Maybe one day we’ll be able to have a coffee in person. Mucho love.
Notes on Street Photography - Part Four
Confidence is important. You need to feel confident about where you are and also with your camera. To be confident with your camera only means that you can get the results that you would like to achieve when it comes to exposure. Not that you know your camera upside-down. Yes, I’ve been shooting all Auto! And loving it.
When it comes to feeling confident about where you are, that’s something that takes time. If you are in a new city that is especially so. Some people like to go out with a friend or take a workshop. Many street photographers prefer to work alone. The choice is really up to you. Either way is good.
In the previous 3 issues of the newsletter, ( Issue 1) I wrote about preparing for a day of shooting. These are important steps to take so that you can both observe and feel confident as well. These go hand-in-hand. Skip steps and you may find that your day doesn’t go as well as you’d like it to.
I have provided hundreds of street photography workshops to people of all ages and levels of experience with their camera or with street photography and feeling comfortable has been a major part of their experience. It is the single most important thing that they were able to achieve.
Confidence is also about how you feel about your own photography and your ability as a photographer. It is unfortunate that so many people feel that they have to create ‘perfect’ photos. That is a huge confidence killer. It is best to not create unrealistic ideas about what photography should be in general and your own photography. And you may have heard me say that I don’t like perfect photos.
As I have written before, street photography is an important activity for me and I am not concerned about the results while shooting. And I rarely look at the previews. That is also a confidence killer. The more you look at your previews and see photos that you don’t like, the less likely you are going to feel good about the whole experience.
If you enjoy yourself when you are out shooting street photography you are more likely to capture photos that you are happy with. I can’t really put it any better. And that’s why I always write Happy Shooting. If you’re not a happy shooter, I’d love to hear more about it and maybe we can find a solution.
I’ve been shooting street photography for more years than I can count anymore. More than 20 years now though I wasn’t calling it street back that. I didn’t know it was a genre. And I’ve gone through stages of feeling more comfortable shooting street. Yes, I’m an extrovert and that does make things a little easier. But it’s not everything.
The more time that you spend really looking at other photos and seeing what’s possible and more important what you like, the better your overall outcome is going to be. I have taken many photos that I originally thought weren’t very good until I saw the photos of others that did something similar.
Another important thing is shooting often. The more photos that you take, the better you will become. A major problem with photography is that it looks easy. It is deceiving. We know better when we see a painting. It takes more than the click of a shutter to create a painting.
It also takes more than the occasional click of a shutter to get good at it. Street photography is a combination of many things all at once. Confidence comes from repetition. You keep doing it over and over again and you review what you previously took and you think about how you’d like your work to change.
Just like learning to ride a bicycle you just keep doing it. Yes, it takes time. But it’s worth it if you are really interested and many people who’ve taken my workshops have come away with many great photos. Even on their first time shooting street!
I’d love to hear about your experience shooting street photography and if you feel confident or if you are having any difficulties with it.
Gift Certificates
Yes, I offer gift certificates for my private and group street photography workshops. You can purchase them online on my site and they don’t expire. It’s so easy to do!
I also have a few photozines for sale in my shop and they ship internationally as well. AND they are signed and numbered as well. A great gift idea for a photographer or photography lover.
Thank you for supporting the work of an independent business. I am very grateful!
Biweekly Photo Assignment - Favorites of 2023
Have you had a look at the photos that you took this year? The assignment is easy. Post your favorite photos from the year 2023. And it would be great if people comment.
This is a voluntary assignment if you want to take part. You can submit your photos to the Facebook group for Shoot New York City and also on Instagram tag @shootnewyorkcity. If you're not a member of the Facebook group yet, all you have to do is request to join.
Further Viewing
I love it when synchronicity happens. This video addresses some of what I wrote about in this newsletter. If you have difficulty understanding him you can turn on the closed-captioning.
The Substack app is a great way to read this and many other newsletters at your leisure. You can access past issues as well.
3 in Midtown, New York City, 27 July 2023.
Upcoming Workshops
Workshops are a maximum of 5 people Workshops are only scheduled on weekend days. If you would like to have a weekday workshop or a workshop in other areas of NYC, let me know with some lead time and I’ll see if others want to also attend it. Otherwise I continue to provide private workshops on weekdays and in other neighborhoods.
For those who haven't done a workshop or photo tour with me in the past I have a number of reviews on my website and also on TripAdvisor! Workshops are both for people who live here and also travelers, as are photo tours.
Photo tours are one-on-one and arranged on an individual basis for both neighborhood and photographic style and can be designed as a workshop as well. They are customized to your interests and level.
I 🖤 that 3 in midtown shot. Took a second to notice the bald guy in the middle, but then it clicked!